In Defense of Lord Elgin

In their article on the Elgin Marbles (“Seeing the Parthenon--in Athens and in London,” Oct. 8), Barbara Pierce and William C. Rempel repeatedly criticized and blamed Lord Elgin for having removed the magnificent carvings from the Parthenon, but completely ignored the fact that the removal of these treasures to England saved them for the appreciation of later generations.

Had these priceless works of art been left in place, they would have been destroyed by the explosion of the powder stored in the Parthenon by the Turks, and by the neglect of the Greek government until very recent years.

THEODORE B. MASSELL

Los Angeles

Editor’s Note: As was mentioned in Pierce and Rempel’s story, the explosion in the Turkish munitions store occurred in 1687, more than a century before Elgin’s removal of the objects. Also mentioned was that the pieces are protected from Athens smog and acid rain by being displayed indoors in London.